


The Attraction of Opposites

by Tarlan



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Angst, Episode Related, Episode: s01e03 Hide and Seek, M/M, Romance, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-10-12
Updated: 2008-10-12
Packaged: 2017-10-21 19:06:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/228608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tarlan/pseuds/Tarlan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carson wished he hadn't let their gentle rivalry be misread by others.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Attraction of Opposites

**Author's Note:**

> Written for LJ McBeckChallenge table prompt #5: _Hide and Seek_

They'd treated it like a joke, seeing Rodney all scared and panicky when the personal shield wouldn't deactivate but Carson was convinced that all Rodney had to do was think _OFF_ \--and mean it--for the device to switch itself off. It never occurred to him that others would misread his teasing of Rodney as contempt or ridicule, that they would treat Rodney with disdain and belittle him in the hours that followed. Even Elizabeth showed mild contempt with her disapproving looks while the newly promoted military commander had taken to mocking the poor man.

With Sheppard, Carson felt partially to blame, especially following the _fainting_ joke. He couldn't help but feel guilty for allowing his and Rodney's teasing rivalry from their respective disciplines to cross the line into mockery from Sheppard, aimed solely at Rodney.

When the call came for medics to the gate room, Carson had felt a terrible feeling in his gut that was definitely not supper-related. He knew deep in his bones that Rodney would be the one on the floor and his stride faltered in relief when he reached the gate room and saw Rodney sitting up, supported by those around him.

Alive. He was alive.

The looks of respect and awe from those who had ridiculed Rodney only hours before was enough to start his temper rising. Most of them had pre-judged Rodney based on a short acquaintance, never seeing beneath the loud and obnoxious exterior to the gentle and determined core of the man. Others like Elizabeth and Peter should have known better, and Carson knew he was partially to blame for that too, having secretly enjoyed the way he could send the other man into high-pitched rants, loving the way Rodney's face became so animated, his hands flying in all directions and blue eyes wild yet piercing. Except Carson had never riled Rodney to be cruel and, usually, Rodney gave back as good as he got, if not better on occasion.

"About time! I could have bled out in the time it took you to get here."

Carson dropped to his knees beside Rodney, scanner already in hand and passing over Rodney's torso as he checked for any signs of internal damage but other than looking a little pinker than usual, Carson could see nothing wrong. He let the relief flood through him and rested a hand on Rodney's shoulder in warm affection, smiling at his friend.

"Ow!" Rodney stated without too much force, and Carson realized that pinkness was probably the equivalent of minor sunburn. As Rodney was not one to leave the laboratory except under duress, and had spent the last half a year in the snow-bound isolation of Antarctica, his fair skin was probably hot and tingling from the exposure. Carson knew it could have been much worse and it gave him a clue as to what had happened here. He fixed Elizabeth with a hard stare.

"The cloud?"

Peter answered. "We used a generator on a MALP to lure the cloud towards the active Stargate but it caught up before the MALP reached the event horizon. It depleted the MALP's battery and stalled it this side of the Stargate."

"Then how..?"

Peter opened his hand to reveal the darkened personal shield. Carson nodded as the answer became obvious. Only one person could have walked into an energy-sucking cloud and save the day without being fried instantly and that was someone wearing the personal shield. As the shield was keyed to a single individual, the person who had originally activated it, that individual had been Rodney.

The clatter of the gurney tore his thoughts from the peril Rodney had faced, and the courage it must have taken for the frightened man to put all his faith in the personal shield, knowing the cloud would be sucking the energy from it at an alarming rate. Instead, he let his professional side take forefront in his thoughts and assisted the medics in placing Rodney onto the gurney. Several times, Carson pushed down on Rodney's shoulder as he tried to rise from the gurney while they transported him to the infirmary.

"I'm perfectly fine, Carson." Exasperation filled Rodney's voice but Carson could hear the slight shake in it as shock settled in.

"Aye, and one of your many doctorates is in Medicine, is it?"

Rodney pulled a distasteful expression that made Carson smile. He watched with an almost proprietary air as the medics helped Rodney to the edge of a bed. He stood aside as one of the nurses pulled the privacy screens around them and handed Rodney a hospital gown. Rodney blinked at it in horror before his eyes cut back to Carson, all wide and startlingly blue.

"Just a precautionary measure, Rodney."

Rodney laid the gown across his lap.

It became apparent the moment Rodney tried to shrug out of his expedition jacket that his skin was a little more sore that Rodney had anticipated. He hissed in a breath, sighing softly when Carson stepped in to help him remove it quicker. Small whimpers of pain accompanied the act of pulling the shirt over his head, leaving his short hair in disarray and eyes filled with pain. Goosebumps stood out against the pink skin as cooler air touched his flesh but, so far, the all-over burn was milder than the one experienced by Ford after his run-in with the cloud. Still, Carson knew it had to be uncomfortable especially as it would cover his entire body evenly. He asked the nurse to run a cool to tepid bath while he dropped two aspirin into the palm of Rodney's hand to take the edge off any pain.

Hours later, with his skin cooled and an IV running to ensure he had plenty of fluids, Carson stopped by to check on Rodney and, thankfully, found him fast asleep. He watched for a while, smiling at how innocent and childlike Rodney looked when he was not frowning and ranting, at how his long. pale eyelashes curled, how his lips were parted sweetly and a thin trail of drool glistened against his skin. With no other immediate duties calling to him, Carson decided to savor the moment and dropped gently into the chair beside the bed.

He'd known for some time that he wanted more than a platonic friendship with Rodney and he knew from Rodney's medical and social background that Rodney would not be adverse to the idea on grounds of gender. For all his talk of blond ladies, Carson knew Rodney had an equal interest in men but would his i>type extend to someone who was different from Rodney in so many ways, from the science they pursued to the way they dealt with others and the situation around them?

He let out a sigh. They were in a strange galaxy, all alone, cut off from the planet of their birth and with no guarantee of ever returning.

Perhaps it was time to find out if he was Rodney's type.

END


End file.
